Kane's 'sick' shootout winner still talk of Blackhawks

December 15, 2011|By Brian Hamilton | Tribune reporter

Asked on Thursday if he counted the nifty stick-handles Patrick Kane amassed before punching in his shootout winner the night before, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville sounded willing to be astounded and leave it at that.

Trying might have been a futile effort, anyway, given the multiple dekes and fakes that Kane threw at a dizzied Wild goalie Nicklas Backstrom before notching the goal to seal a win over the Western Conference leaders.

Reflecting on the move Thursday, Kane said he was merely looking to "change it up" in his approach to shootouts.

"I've tried it a few times in practice, and I've had some pretty good success at it," the Hawks winger said. "We were in a good position to win, so I thought I'd try it and try something different. It's always nice to change it up, try some different moves. You've seen guys slow down and go real slow before. I kind of probably took it to another level there."

The normally staid Quenneville didn't mute his feelings about the move.

"I said 'Sick' when I saw it," the Hawks coach said. "That was an amazing play. We talked about it earlier on in the year, it was a point of emphasis, and to do what he did last night was special.

"I don't foresee what's going to be the move. We talk about going with speed and making a move – he did just the opposite. There's a certain trickery that skill players have and that added patience that he showed was pretty remarkable."

One-timers: Ray Emery gets his fourth straight start in goal against the Ducks on Friday, Quenneville said... Winger Daniel Carcillo is "questionable" for the Ducks game with an upper-body injury that Quenneville deemed "not serious."